The present invention relates to a dual clutch arrangement for a dual clutch transmission for motor vehicles, having a first and a second friction clutch, which friction clutches have a common input member and in each case one output member, with the output member of the first friction clutch being connected to a first shaft and with the output member of the second friction clutch being connected to a second shaft which is formed as a hollow shaft concentrically around the first shaft, with the first and the second friction clutches being nested radially one inside the other. A dual clutch arrangement of said type is known from document DE 10 2004 061 020 A1, with a vibration damper arrangement for damping undesired vibrations being arranged radially outside the friction clutches.
Dual clutch transmissions are generally known. They contain a dual clutch arrangement having two friction clutches and a multi-step transmission having two parallel partial transmissions. A branch having a first friction clutch and a first partial transmission is assigned the odd-numbered gear stages. The other branch having the second friction clutch and the second partial transmission is assigned the even-numbered gear stages. At the input side, the friction clutches are connected to a drive engine, for example an internal combustion engine, a hybrid drive unit or the like. The partial transmissions are generally realized as spur gear transmissions. The connection of the friction clutch arrangement to the partial transmissions takes place by means of a shaft arrangement having an inner shaft and having a hollow shaft which is arranged concentrically with respect to said inner shaft.
It is possible, by means of overlapping actuation of the two friction clutches, to carry out gearshifts without an interruption in tractive force. The actuation of the friction clutches takes place in an automated fashion. The actuators used for this purpose may be hydraulic or electric actuators.
In the dual clutch arrangement which is known from the above-cited document DE 10 2004 061 020 A1, the input member of the friction clutches is mounted on the housing and thereby encloses a chamber via which cooling and lubricating oil is discharged. The friction clutches are embodied as wet-running multiplate clutches. The vibration damper arrangement is arranged radially outside the friction clutches and is likewise of wet-running design.
Similar dual clutch arrangements are also known from documents DE 10 2006 010 707 A1 and EP 1 610 020 A1, with no vibration damper arrangement being provided in the first of said documents, and with a vibration damper arrangement being arranged outside the clutch housing, and therefore so as to be dry-running, in the second document.
Furthermore, document DE 2006 014 562 A1 discloses a dual clutch arrangement in which the friction clutches are nested radially one inside the other and a vibration damper arrangement is arranged in the axial direction in front of the friction clutches. A common input member of the two friction clutches is mounted on the second shaft, with a shaft section of the input member extending rearward in the axial direction. The dual clutch arrangement known from document DE 10 2006 014 562 A1 is of very large overall construction in the axial direction. This is also on account of the fact that the input member of the friction clutches is connected to a so-called secondary part which extends forward around the vibration damper arrangement in the axial direction in order to be able to additionally mount the friction clutches on a front housing part.
For the installation of such dual clutch arrangements in drivetrains of front-transverse layout, an axially compact design is of great importance.